Vases and More Vases
by Aqua Burst 07
Summary: These are a series of one shots centering around the relationship between Atem and Mana. These are my one shots for Vaseshipping Week.
1. Hide and Seek

**Hey guys, and welcome to my Vaseshiping Week one shot collection. I am super excited for this whole week, especially since this my shipping week in this fandom and Dippica Week Challenge was a blast. But I am not here to babble about a pairing in another fandom, we are here for the exploration of a pairing featuring a magical appertince and a pharonic dork- wait, that came out wrong...But you get my point.**

 **This week I will be producing a vaseshipping one shot each day, using a prompt on a list on Tumblr.** **Let's begin.**

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 **Prompt 1:** **Childhood || The Past, Present and Future: This is based on a prompt idea I got on Tumblr from Bunny-Ears-Bakura on that site a few months back. Since I never got the chance to write it until now, I decided to write this for vaseshipping week.**

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Tired, Atem sat in his chambers in front of his desk. A few days ago, a man, who called himself The Thief King, crashed into his court. However, he was no piety thief. In addition to claiming that his father was responsible for slaughtering a whole village and dragging his father's dead corpse along with him, which angered and shocked him greatly on there own, he had ka named Daibound, which was so powerful it easily wiped the floor with all of his High Priests. The only reason why he was able to stop him was that he was able to summon Obelisk in order to aid him in the fight. Despite his efforts, the thief got away, running off into the night. Atem knew that he was plotting his next move against him and his kngdom. Whatever it was, it wasn't good in the slightest. He just knew the fiend and his followers had to be stopped, but he had no idea how he was going to do just that.

To add to his troubles, his father passed away last harvest season, dying in his sleep as he was told. And now, Atem was pharaoh, the God King of Kemet. How could he ever live up to his father's legacy? He wished his father was still here. He wanted him to be here, but he knew that was impossible since he is in the Field of Reeds among the gods. How was he going to do this without his help?

Suddenly, Atem heard a foot steps behind him. Whirling his head around, he saw Mana walk into his bedchambers.

"Mana, what are you doing here?" he wondered, staring at her in confusion. "I thought you were supposed to be studying right now."

She shrugged. "I wanted to take a little break for a while, so Mahad let me take one."

Atem arched an eyebrow, arms crossed. He knew Mana. She had a bad habit of skipping her classes, especially when she didn't find them super interesting. This time was probably no exception.

"Come on, Atem! I'm not that bad," she protested, hand on her hip.

Smirking mischievously, he said, "You are."

"Hey!" Mana protested. "I really am this time. I promise."

Laughing, he said, "All right, all right. I believe you."

Slowly, Atem's face slowly twisted into a frown as he looked away from her. His thoughts went back to the fiend. How was he ever going to stop this madman? He had to stop him. He just-

"Atem, what's wrong?" Mana asked in concern, breaking him out of his thoughts. He fixed his gaze on her once more. "You seem worried about something."

"I'm fine," he denied after he blinked.

"Come on, Prince. I know you; there's something on your mind."

Atem let a sigh escape him, knowing he couldn't hide anything from her. She was his best friend. If anyone deserved to know about this, it was her.

"It is about the Thief King. Ever since he showed up in the court a few weeks ago, he has been terrorising the country side. I'm trying to keep the people calm and keep things under control, but..."

Mana looked at Atem with solemn eyes. She knew he went through a lot over the last while, especially with that fiend and his followers on the loose. Not only that, he lost his father not that long ago, which was a huge blow on him to say the least, so he was now a god on earth and everyone looked at him for guidance.

"I'm worried, too. But, you can't let him get to you. But if you give up now, you would be giving him exactly what he wants."

She had a point. If he gave up, he would've lost this man's twisted game. He's the God King now. He can't give up. Not just because of his own pride, but for the good of everyone in Kemet.

Atem stared his friend. "You're right. Thanks, Mana."

"You're welcome. Besides, I know I am," she boasted playfully in an attempt to cheer him up.

"I guess," he muttered, gaining a worried look in his eyes.

Mana frowned at this, getting even more worried about him. She had to do something to get his mind off of this.

"Come on. We should do something to get your mind off things," Mana said, wanting to cheer him up.

"Sure," he said. "Though, what do you want to do?"

Mana paused. What should they do? Wait...

"How about hide-and-seek?" Mana suggested.

Atem blinked at this, taken back. "Aren't we a bit old for that?"

"Come on!" Mana urged with a grin. "It'll be fun. It will be just like when we were little."

While Atem still thought it was childish, he didn't care in the slightest. Atem never spent time with her in ages, despite desperately wanting to do so. This gave him the chance to do just that.

"All right," he replied. "You want to go first?"

Mana nodded. Atem got out off of his chair and walked towards one of the walls, facing it and closing his eyes. As Atem started counting, for the time in a long time, he smiled.


	2. Atem's Sacrifice

**Day 2: Loneliness || Loss: Hey, guys and oh boy - this one will bring on the feels.**

 **Also, I call Priest Seto "Seth" instead, mostly because I think that name is more arrucate to the time period then his canon one.**

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Atem ran through what was left of the city, heading back to where that demon was. Zork, a huge, dark beast, covered the sun with the moon, blanketing the desert with a never-ending darkness. The beast destroyed many homes by setting them blaze with is dragon mouth while hideous monsters helped it, destroying everything in sight.

Screams echoed into the night as the last of the villagers escaping from their burning homes and into the safety of the palace courtyard. Kemetic army fought off the monsters while Atem and the rest of his court assisted in the fight. However, despite his best efforts, there have been many casualties, including a few members of his own court and even one of his best friends, Mahad. Atem still did not want to give up otherwise everything he knew and loved would be destroyed and those lives lost would be in vain.

Suddenly, he saw a monster rushing towards him before he swung his kopesh at the creature, slashing it. When he tried to slash it once more, the creature shoved him to the ground, raising his claws in the air. Atem, quickly, hopped to his feet before he kicked it, sending it reeling. In the process, Atem fell to the ground and grunted. Trying to get to his feet, he collapsed to the ground. Atem push his arms up to only collapse once more to only fall down once more.

"Atem!" he heard Mana cry out.

The Pharaoh whipped his head around to see Mana and Priest Seth rush towards him.

Atem hissed in pain, trying to get to his feet with no avail.

"Here," Mana said, offering a hand. "Let me help you."

Atem wrapped his arm around her shoulder before she stood up slowly at the same time as him. Shifting his eyes towards her, Atem gave her a tired smile at this.

"Thank you, Mana."

Mana shot him a tired smile of her own. "You're welcome."

Glancing to the side, he saw the same creature creeping towards Mana.

"Mana, look out!"

Mana spun around and pointed her staff at the beast, sending a dark wave of magic at it and turning it to dust. The sides of his lips tugged up at this. While Mana still has long way to go, she was still getting a lot better at her magic over the last few years.

Suddenly, an idea came to Atem. He remembered there's a very powerful spell in the Millennium Spell Book that mentioned something about sealing a creature with your name, breaking the Millennium Item around his neck. The catch was that it was very powerful, making it likely that he might parish in the process. If that happened, he would never get the chance to grow old, have kids or spend the rest of his life with his Chief Wife, Mana. Instead - he might die young in order to defeat this demon. But if that was the risk, he had to take it in order to save his people. He must do this. He had too.

"I think I know a way to defeat that beast."

Seth and Mana merely stared at him, taken back by what he said.

"What is it?" Mana asked.

"I going to try to do a spell on Zorc in order to seal him," he explained, leaving some information out and feeling a pang of guilt as he did so.

"I will come—"

"You can't," Atem said, cutting her off. "This is something I have to do on my own."

"Atem," Mana chocked out, eyes wide with shock. "You can't do something like this own! You could get killed facing a monster like all by yourself!"

"We tried everything, Mana! Most of the priests in the court are dead and even the Egyptian God Monsters themselves cannot destroy Zorc!" Atem let out a shaky breath, trying to calm himself down. He said softly, "I have to. It's the only way to truly defeat Zorc."

Mana knew Atem was right. If Zork wasn't defeated, he will wreak havoc across Kemet. She never wanted something like that to happen. Neither did Atem. However, it didn't make any of this easier in the slightest.

The young monarch shifted his gaze towards his cousin. "Seth, if something shall happen to me, you are the new pharaoh of Kemet."

Seth's eyes widened at this. "No—"

Atem placed a hand on his shoulder. "Seth, I know you well. You are a strong and cunning man. I know you will lead this land fairly and justly."

Seth paused for moment. "Thank you, My Pharaoh."

"You are going to come back. Right?" Mana asked softly after a few moments.

Atem fixed his gaze on Mana, who was looking at him with desperate eyes. The young monarch pried his eyes away, too afraid to look Mana in the eye. Atem tried his hardest to not shed tears. Atem still wasn't sure if he was going to survive something like this, being a strong chance that he could parish. However, something inside of him told him that there might be a chance of him seeing Mana and the rest of his friends again.

"I will. I promise this won't be the last time you will see me."

Mana looked at him, a flicker of emotion in her eye. Would Atem survive this? After all, this was a huge risk.

She had to have hope, after all he has been through a lot in his life. He will make it through this. Right?

Besides, she had to stay strong. After all, that would be what Mahad would have wanted. Though, she prayed to the Gods that he would survive this.

Without thinking, Mana grabbed Atem by the shoulder, spinning him around so he looked her in the eye. Before he knew it, Mana pressed her lips against his. He melted into the kiss, smiling as he did so. He never wanted it to end since something inside the pharaoh's heart told him that this might be the last kiss he might have with her.

Pulling away, she gave the young monarch a smile. "I love you, Atem."

He gave her a smile in return. "I love you, too."

Suddenly, he spotted some more monsters spawned by that beast in the distance. Mana and Seth rushed off, intending to fight off the new threat.

Atem let out another shaky breath. Atem did not want to do this. However, it had to be done. If he doesn't do this, who knows what might happen to his country and his loved ones. If defeating that monster means sealing his soul away in the process, then so it shall be. He took a deep breath, ready to face the beast.


	3. Stuck Between a Vase and Hard Place

**Prompt 3: Atem, Mana and Mahad**

 **After the last one, now it's time for a bit of fluff! This is based on a headcanon I had for awhile about Mana and Atem's first kiss. Atem and Mana are around 13 here.**

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Mana and Atem sprinted through the palace grounds. Bored, Mana and Atem tried to play a prank on Mahad by tossing him into the palace fountain in front of Isis and Seth. They have to find somewhere to hide and fast, especially since she could only sense a huge lecture and punishment from her master coming if she didn't.

"Atem, in there," Mana said, gesturing towards the vase.

Mana rushed forward, climbing inside of the vase. Atem blinked at this. Would they be able to fit in there? Would one of them be able to fit in there?

"Come on!" she urged, peeking out of the vase.

Sighing, Atem hopped inside the vase. Atem quickly realised that the vase wasn't exactly meant to hold one person let alone two teenagers. Atem's back was shoved against the back of the vase, leaving very little wiggle room for them. Not only that, his legs were wrapped around her so that she was sitting between them. Atem blushed, praying that Mana wouldn't notice the red on his cheeks.

Mana leaned against him, pressing her body against the side of the vase. This was such a bad idea. She should've known they would've never been able to fit in here. She and Atem had to stay in here otherwise Mahad would lecture them for sure. Besides, this wasn't that bad. This could be a lot worse. Besides ...Wait. Where did that thought come from?

"Ugh," Atem grunted when Mana elbowed him in the stomach.

"Sorry," she apologised.

"It's all right. Though, what's with your obsession with vases?" he mused, trying anything to get his mind off of this whole thing.

"Hey! These are good hiding spots!" she protested. Embarrassed, Mana said more softly, "Um, be quiet otherwise we'll be caught."

Atem nodded at this. He couldn't really argue with that.

Mana turned her face away, feeling butterflies fluttering in her tummy. This wasn't the first time she felt this way around her friend lately. In fact, she felt like that around him a lot lately. It wasn't just that Atem seemed to act different around her. While he can be very regal around grown-ups like Shimon or his father, he seem to act more carefree, wild, and goofy when he's around her. Did he have a crush on her?

"Mana! Atem!" Mahad called out, shattering her train of thought.

Mana turned her head towards the direction she heard Mahad, pressing her lips on the side of his face. Mana burst out laughing, giving away their spot.


	4. End the Silence

**Prompt 4: Underworld**

 **This is based on a headcanon I had for awhile now. This takes place when Atem's in the afterlife with his loved ones. While I know it doesn't make much sense for people to sleep in the afterlife, one of my headcanons is that people sometimes sleep there for nostalgia sake in the show.**

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Laying in his bed, Atem shifted around uncomfortably in his bed due to the silence around him. Ugh. He has the chance to be with his loved ones after thousands of years and he still can't fall asleep due his demons! Atem knew he had troubles with this inside in the puzzle, but usually the mind link helped him out with this. But now, it's just him and his own thoughts. He has to fall asleep, especially since he has been awake for over an hour at least and the last thing he wants for this to make Mana wake up.

Atem hummed, trying to fall asleep again. Much to his dismay, even after several minutes, he was very much awake. He's the King of Games, why can't he do something simple as this!

"Atem, what's wrong?" he heard Mana ask in concern.

Opening his eyes, he sat up on his mattress and saw Mana, who looked at him worriedly.

"Nothing," he denied.

Mana gave him a dry look, raising an eyebrow. She didn't buy it. Not one bit.

Atem let a sigh escape him. He knew that he couldn't hide this from her. In addition to being his Chief Wife when he was alive, she is his best friend. If he could tell anyone about this, it was her. Even if he didn't tell Mana now, she will figure out somehow.

"All right," he said. "I don't like silence. Since I was in that tomb... it just bothers me after a few hours or so. It just brings back bad memories."

Mana pried her eyes away, frowning. She knew exactly what he was talking about. She saw him inside of the tomb with the aid of a spell that she learnt, seeing him alone inside of the tomb. He had no one to talk with while all his memories slowly slipped away, forgetting about everyone he knew and loved. After seeing that, Mana sobbed, hating seeing her friend and lover in so much pain. She wanted do anything to make his pain stop. Because of this, she controlled her ka, The Dark Magician Girl, with her magic to aid him when he needed it. No wonder why he needed to do that. It was his way of coping and keeping himself in check after torcher that was worse then the jaws of Ammit.

She couldn't just sit here! There had to be something she could do. ...wait!

Laying down on her pillow, she started to hum softly. After a several minutes, Atem shut his eyes, slowly falling back to a peaceful sleep before the sides of her lip pulled up.


	5. First Meeting

**Prompt 5: AU/Crossover**

 **Since I am a complete dork and want to try something different with this, it's time to take a trip into my headcanon Yu-Gi-Oh Gravity Falls universe. While I don't want to write a complete fic about this...mostly because I am having a hard time juggling fics as it is, I still wanted to make this one shot.**

 **As a side note, Domino is in California in this universe. However, Yami and Yugi are still Japanese and Egyptian decent meanwhile Mana's Egyptian decent.**

* * *

Yami and Yugi walked into the Mystery Place, dropping their duffle bags to the floor. The walls were lined up with many different games and merchandise, it reminded him a lot of the Game Shop back at home, except with more weird, supernatural items.

Yami and his twin were sent here to live for the summer in order to spend some time with their dad. However, Yami wasn't happy about this at all.

Yami and his brother never saw their father since they were in diapers. And now, they were expected to spend the whole summer in a small town named Gravity Falls in the middle of Oregon with a man they hardly knew. All Yami knew it would take them a miracle to get them through the summer.

Although, hew knew Yugi had it even worse then him since he couldn't spend any time with his new girlfriend, Tea, for the whole summer outside of webcam chats. However, despite this, Yugi told him that he wanted to have an open mind about this whole thing. Yami admired him for that, especially since he wasn't as willing too.

Suddenly, he felt someone run into his side, almost causing to topple over.

"Oh, shit!" he heard a girl swear from beside him.

Turning his head to the side, he saw a girl, who was around the same age as him, standing next to him. She had a mop of dark hair and green eyes with dark olive skin. He felt a hint of pink creep on his cheeks. She looked rather cute.

However, Yami couldn't shake off the feeling that he saw her before. But he had no idea how they could be possible, especially since this was his first time coming here since he was a toddler and he never saw her icon online.

"Are you all right?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Sorry," he replied hastily. "Just zoned out there for a second."

Yami gave an awkward laugh, silently wanting to smack himself. From the corner his eye, he saw Yugi laugh.

"Someone's a space cadet today," the girl teased.

"Um…" he said, trying to think of a smart response to that.

"Relax," she said. "I'm just messing with ya. Besides, I zoned out there for a second too."

Yami swore she had a strange, worried look in her eye, causing Yami stare at her for a moment. What did she mean by that? Did she have that same feeling, too? Was this some kind of coincidence or something else? … He was thinking way too damn hard about this.

"Anyways," she said, extending a hand towards him. "My name's Mana Asghar."

Yami took her hand with a smile, shaking it. "I'm Yami Muto. You work here?"

She nodded. "Yup. I worked here for the past year or so."

"That's cool," he said.

"Thanks." Mana picked up one of the crates on the ground, carrying it and asking, "So where are you guys from?"

"Oh," he said, snapping back to reality, "we're from Domino City."

"So, you two are California beach bums. Eh?" she mused with a teasing grin.

Yami shrugged. "Not really; I enjoy duelling a lot more."

"Sweet!" she said, smiling.

"You duel?" Yugi said.

"A little," she said, setting it down on the ground, "but I'm not good enough to compete in tournaments or anything like that. What about you guys?"

"I reached the final round of the regionals on a few occasions," Yugi answered. "However, I never made it beyond that."

"You're Yugi Muto, aren't you?" she mused.

Shyly, Yugi nodded at this as his face went red. "Yeah."

Yami smirked at tiny bit at this. Shows him for laughing at him before.

Still, he felt a little bad for him. Yugi wasn't ever able to handle fans that well. A year back, he even froze on stage when he had to make a huge speech. To be fair, he would've been the same way since he hates talking in front of crowds, too. At least Mana seemed to be a more down to earth fan then some of the fan girls that his brother encountered in the past. She is practically a stuffed llama plushie compared to some of those.

Mana almost felt kind of dumb. Ugh. How could've she missed something like that? While he wasn't a household name, he was still a fairly big duellist.

"That's cool. Sorry for not asking for your name before. It just slipped my mind."

"It's alright," Yugi replied.

Mana nodded before she looked at Yami. "What about you? I don't think I ever saw you on one of the live streams before."

"Well, I duel a lot with Yugi, but I always managed to never make it past the regionals, really."

Mana giggled. "Wow. I feel kind of sorry for you."

"Na," Yami said. "It's alright. I might be able to play in one of the major tournaments one day."

"I hope you do. Who knows, you might be on that stage long side your brother one day."

"Thanks," Yami said, cheeks heating up at that.

His twin's eyes darted around the place.

"Does anyone else work here?" Yugi asked, thankfully not noticing his red cheeks.

"Well," Mana answered, "there's Joey, who has the day off and a few others. Other then that, not that many others."

From the corner of his eye, Yami saw his father walk into the place. Their dad turned his gaze towards them. "Yami, Yugi. I have to show your room."

"Come on," Yugi urged before he headed out of the room.

Yami nodded at this before he turned his gaze towards Mana. "Sorry. I have to go."

"No problem, " she said, smiling. "I will talk to you guys later. Besides, I should be getting back to work."

"Yami Solomon Muto!" his father called out from the other room.

"All right, all right," he murmured testily.

He walked in the opposite direction, he headed towards the stairway. Maybe this summer might not be so bad after all…

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 **Rm gsv hkrirg lu Tizergb Uzooh, sviv'h z xrksvi xlwv.**


	6. The Umberella Revolution is at Hand!

**Prompt 6: Escape from Trouble**

 **I got this idea from the Gravity Falls episode The Deep End. However, I wanted to do my own take on things.**

 **Also, as a side note, umbrella were around in ancient Egypt. Unlike today, they were more used to shade people from the sun.**

* * *

Mana and Atem crouched behind a pillar, looking at Priest Seth. The two were bored, so Mana suggested they should play a prank on some of the people in the palace. Reluctantly, Atem decided to tag along.

Atem wanted a break from his studies for a bit. Not only that, he wanted to spend more time with Mana, especially since he was finding less time to do so lately.

"Seth," Mana said in the deepest voice she could muster.

"Who said that?" Seth said, eyes darting around the area.

"I'm the umbrella in your hand," Mana said, trying her hardest not to giggle. "You must free my people!"

Seth furrowed his brow in confusion, fixing his eyes on the item. "What?"

"Yes. We have been enslaved by the humans for ages. You are destined to free us, Seth! The revolution is at hand! The revolution is at hand!"

Seth crossed his arms, walking away with the umbrella in his hand and causing Mana's heart to pound. She had to come up with something and fast! Come on, come on. ...wait!

There was spell that was able to make inanimate objects float. She could use that! Besides, Mahad told her that she needed to practice it more yesterday, anyways.

Pointing her wand at the umbrella, Mana muttered a spell before the umbrella was plucked from Seth's hand by an invisible force.

"You must save us!" Mana said, as the umbrella floated away.

The two laughed before Atem gave her a high five. For some reason, butterflies fluttered in her stomach when he touched her. She felt like this around him a lot lately. She always enjoyed spending time with him; however, lately she wanted to be around him even more. He also wanted to spend more time with her, too.

Suddenly, all the furniture in the court yard, slowly, floated up in the air. Mana's eyes flew open at this. Oh crap! This wasn't supposed to happen. She must have said a part of the spell wrong. Ugh. How could she did something so stupid! She had to think-

"Mana, what did you do?" Atem asked, fixing his eyes on her.

"I-I tried to do a spell to make the umbrella float away; I must've said it wrong. I'll fix it."

Mana pulled out her spell book, desperately flipping through the pages. Come on, come on! Where was it. Mana landed on a page with a spell While she never tried this one before, but it was worth a shot. It was either this or here the priests lecturing her for hours or worse.

Muttering the spell on the page, silently praying to all the Gods that it would work. As if the Gods answered her prayers, all the items dropped back to their original spots. Mana let a sigh escape her. That was a close one. By the look on Atem's face, he was probably thinking the same thing as well.

Mana felt a light tap on her shoulder. Spinning her head around, Mana saw Mahad standing behind her, arms crossed along with Seth. They were in big trouble.


	7. Able to See You Again

**Well, today is the last day of Vaseshipping Week. Thank you guys so much for participating and supporting me throughout this whole thing. This was a blast and I am looking forward to doing it next year...though, I will hold it in the middle of the summer instead of the tale end of it.**

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 **Prompt 7: Reunion and Tears**

 **I had this idea for a while now. I'm planning to make a far longer version of this in the future as well. However, for this one, I want to do it in Mana's POV to try something different.**

* * *

Mana leaned against a wall in the afterlife, grinning. During the ceremonial duel, she fought tooth and nail for Atem along side Mahad, who was fused with the Dark Magician. However, despite her friend's best efforts, Yugi won the duel, finally letting Atem be able to come home. She remembered seeing Atem's modern friends in tears as he walked into the other side. She felt sorry for them. At same time, she couldn't be any happier for her friend. A part of her felt awful for feeling that way, but she couldn't help it. Yugi grew to be a strong duellist. And now, after millennia of waiting, he was finally able to come home.

Right after she entered the Field of Reeds, Mahad and Mana were able to see Atem with an aid of a spell. During that time, Mana could tell that he was in pain. She remembered seeing him as the years went by, but his memories and sanity slowly faded away. She wanted to do anything to pull him out of the darkness, but all she could do for the longest time was stand by and watch him slip into madness to the point where he even wished death. When she saw him like that, it made her feel like she died a second time. Because she wanted to do anything to help him, she controlled the Dark Magician Girl during his duels, fighting long side her master in battle.

Despite it all, he pulled through. She could be any more proud of him. Then again, she had no doubt he would, he is the King of Games and all.

Despite seeing glimpses of him in battle, she missed him. She messed hiding inside vases with him; she missed pulling pranks on the folks in the palace with him by her side; she missed being his arms and so much more. While the afterlife is a wonderful place, it wasn't the same without her best friend.

From the corner of her eye, she spotted Atem standing there before he turned his head, eyes fixed on her. The two rushed up to each other before he wrapped his arms around her, locking her in an embrace.

Tears brimmed Mana's eyelashes, overwhelmed with emotion. There was so much that she wanted to say to him, but she had no idea how to put it into words. At the same time, none of that mattered, she was finally able to see him once again.

When Atem finally let go of her, Mana cracked a mischievous smile, wiping her tears away with her hand. "Wow. And here I thought I was going to be the one to do that first."

Atem smirked playfully. "You try spending 3000 years in a dark tomb and then be formal after all of that!"

"Good point," Mana said with a hint of a pink on her cheeks. "Still, I am glad to see you again."

"Thank you. And I'm glad to see you again, too."


End file.
